What could have beenIJ Perhaps that’s the summarised version of the questions on the Delhi Daredevils minds. Their delirious condition in the IPl — even a 100 per cent record from now on can’t guarantee them a semi-final spot — reminiscent of the low.
May be their new captain Kevin Pietersen could have fired and numbers would have been better than 62 runs over five innings and an unbeaten 26 his best. May be Dinesh Karthik, now a veteran in IPl with 100 matches, could have fared better than two fifties from eight matches as he comes at number three. May be another experienced batsman Murali Vijay, would have scored more than 193 runs in his eight outings as an opener and made an impact in a lower profile team than his previous one, the Chennai Super Kings. May be their best batsman Jean Paul Duminy — who is fifth in the batsmen list right now — could have come up the order than at number five, he is averaging 93.33 and striking every 100 balls for 137.25 runs.
Or, maybe they could have had a bowler who would have found a place in the top-ten of the bowling list rather than a dismal 26 as best for Jaydev Unadkat. May be they could have had a spinner who could have been better than Shahbaz Nadeem with five wickets in eight matches. May be they could have bought Glenn Maxwell in the IP auctions if Mumbai, what in hindsight is a big mistake, had decided not to retain him, or maybe even bought Mitchell Johnson to have some support for their young bowlers like Mohammad Shami and Unadkat.
If some or all of those boxes had been taken care of, coach Gary Kirsten wouldn’t be looking at an ouster anytime with Daredevils having lost two of their eight matches this season. That means they are at the bottom of the league table — like 2011 and 2013 — with four points.
And, when they step into the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium on Saturday, ironically facing the Sunrisers Hyderabad under the sun as the tie is a day match, they would most likely be looking for a relief win, first at home this year in four attempts.Their opponents look better equipped in the tournament with bowling as their strength after defending a meagre 134 against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday in Ahmedabad. They have the purple cap holder for highest wickets in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the icon Dale Steyn, the leg-spinning duo of Karn Sharma and Amit Mishra, and a changed Irfan Pathan who now bowls in the middle overs and the end.
Their batting looks potent with Aaron Finch, captain Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner forming the mainstay. A weakness may be in the fact that these three look to keep attacking and that can be exploited with firepower by an equally fiery opposition. After all even a good bowling side may not be able to defend a small total every time. Their Saturday opponents though, may not be having the required aggression.For the game, Delhi have some enforcement in the form of South African Imran Tahir. The DD-SH tie is the pen-ultimate game in the Capital this season and Delhi’s best chance to have a home win. Their final one is against the mighty Kings XI Punjab on the 19th.
Delhi go into the game with the hope to revive what looks a lost cause but also with the confidence that one game can change a lot of things as three teams at this point in the league table have six points while Delhi and Mumbai Indians have four. Hyderabad themselves have six. May be a far-fetched 14 points — if Delhi win all their games, coupled with some favourable results in other matches — is the magic number.